Review: Forever Evil- Rogues Rebellion

Quick Summary

Pros: The focus on the Rogues is excellent and manages to show off how great this team can be. Seeing the Rogues operate as heroes is fun and works well as an entertaining role-reversal. The book’s conclusion works as an end to the story arc.

Cons: The middle of the book is pretty lackluster and only has a few redeeming elements. Explanations behind some plot points feel forced and cheesy. The inconsistencies in the artwork are annoying in some places.

Overall: This is a collection with a strange mix of positives and negatives. On one hand, it succeeds in showing what makes the Rogues such great characters and provides a unique twist on their typical activities. On the other hand, the narrative dies down significantly near the middle and doesn’t fully recover from this point onward. In the end, this is a collection for people who really enjoy the Rogues or who are interested in seeing them maneuver without the Flash around.

Story

Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion, by Brian Buccellato, is an average collection that succeeds in the places that count. It manages to showcase the Rogues in a way that highlights their positive attributes and really makes you care about them as individuals. It also manages to provide a rare opportunity to see the Rogues acting as heroes, a uniquely humanizing moment in a medium where villains are typically dramatic caricatures. Unfortunately, the adventure detailed here starts to deteriorate about halfway through the volume and simply doesn’t feel the same from this point onward. It picks back up again to deliver a decently satisfying conclusion but still isn’t quite as entertaining as one would hope.

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Rogues Rebellion starts out very strong by immediately allowing readers to become acquainted with the Rogues. Readers watch as they call off a robbery because it has the potential to kill innocent people, discover the individual relationships between the members, and learn about their new powers. This introduction delivers all of the necessary information and still manages to be entertaining while doing so.

Rogues Rebellion stays strong as it begins to tie into the Forever Evil (Review) event. At first, this means simply showing that the Rogues stick to their convictions by having them betray the Crime Syndicate. Then, they become actual heroes working to restore order to their home. They free police officers, deescalate situations as much as possible, and even fight a few villains. In general, this portion of the story makes the Rogues feel like heroes who just happen to be on the wrong side of the law every now and then, which makes them an absolute joy to root for.

However, things start to fall apart when the Rogues are attacked by the Crime Syndicate and Captain Cold is separated from the group. At this point, the book’s chapters become individual adventures where the Rogues work toward some smaller task that will help them save their home. The episodic nature of these stories does not work well with a limited series like this and massively undermines its appeal. There is a larger narrative here that has Heat Wave learn what it truly means to be a Rogue but this is really the only positive element in this portion of the collection.

Luckily, Rogues Rebellion does start to pick back up again as it approaches its conclusion. Readers witness the Rogues rally their abilities and come together as a functioning team once more. It leads to a triumphant victory for this gang of lovable criminals that manages to feel earned, despite the convoluted way in which it was reached. The only real problem here is that the explanation behind Mirror Master’s power malfunctions is extremely cheesy. Overall though, the conclusion is worthwhile.

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Art

The artwork in Rogues Rebellion starts out pretty solid. Patrick Zircher opens up the volume with a few chapters that capture the spirit of this comic. They manage to depict the serious mood of the events unfolding out of Forever Evil (Review) while also properly depicting the Rogues themselves.

Then, the artwork undergoes an awkward transition as it dramatically switches art styles when Scott Hepburn takes over. Hepburn’s artwork is not nearly as positive and ends up being average, for the most part. There are a few pages here that look great and really manage to capture a specific moment in a cool action sequences. However, there are also a few pages that aren’t as neatly laid out and depict characters in static positions or with odd body proportions. These positives and negatives tend to even each other out but end up leaving the majority of the collections visuals looking average at best.

Continuity

Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion is a tie-in to the Forever Evil (Review) event.

Plot threads from this volume, specifically those surrounding Captain Cold, are concluded in Forever Evil (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• As a Forever Evil (Review) tie-in, many events in this volume takes place before, after, or during the events of Forever Evil. Specifically:
  • The “Now” portions of The Flash #23.3 take place at the same time as Forever Evil #1.
  • Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #1 takes place at the same time as Forever Evil #2.
  • Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #2 takes place at the same time as Forever Evil #3.
  • Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #6 takes place right before Forever Evil #6.
• Many recent events from The Flash series are mentioned throughout this volume. These include:
  • The Rogues developing powers in The Flash Annual #1, collected in The Flash Vol. 2: Rogues Revolution (Review).
  • The Rogues’ updated histories from throughout The Flash Vol. 2: Rogues Revolution (Review).
  • The war against Gorilla City from The Flash Vol. 3: Gorilla Warfare (Review).
• Gorilla Grodd’s role here is explained by The Flash #23.1, currently only collected in DC New 52 Villains Omnibus.